Big Sky Power Rankings 10-18

[JALMOND]

When the dust from last week finally settled, the three teams that are still undefeated in conference play are Eastern Washington, Montana State and...Sacramento State. Fresh off their first win ever in the evil Grizzly den, the Hornets remained undefeated and join the Eagles and Bobcats at the top of the standings, and likewise at the top of the power rankings. It also gives the Hornets a good shot at being undefeated going into their rivalry game, the Causeway Classic, the last weekend of the season. But still a lot of conference football left and many teams still have a say in everything. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's rankings in parenthesis). All are my opinion only.

1. Eastern Washington (1)---Last week beat Idaho at home 71-21, this week Weber State at home---Can anything slow down the Eagles and their high flying offense? They are not showing signs of leveling, instead they seem to be improving week by week. At the beginning of the season, the game this weekend looked to be a good matchup. Now, it just looks like one minor speed bump on the Eagles' schedule.

2. Montana State (2)---Last week won at Weber State 13-7, this week Idaho State at home---A short week of preparation and heading out on the road to face one of the better teams in the conference. None of those obstacles hurt the Bobcats as they came home with a good conference road win. Now they get an extra day of work and a game at home this weekend, one that should be a win.

3. Sacramento State (4)---Last week won at Montana 28-21, this week Northern Arizona at home---As stated in the intro, the Hornets got their first win ever in Missoula over Montana. But there is still work to do and a big win like that won't mean anything if they can't build on it. A tough test awaits them at home this week, one that can sneak up on them if they are not prepared.

4. UC Davis (5)---Last week beat Northern Colorado at home 32-3, this week at Cal Poly---The Aggies responded after a perplexing road loss to one of the conference bottom feeders with a strong home win over another one of the conference bottom feeders. They head out on the road this weekend to play yet another conference bottom feeders (there seems to be quite a few of them).

5. Montana (3)---Last week lost to Sacramento State at home 28-21, this week at Idaho---After losing their starting quarterback in the Eastern Washington game, the Grizzlies seem to be a free fall with no end in sight. They struggled against a weak transitional team at home. They let Sacramento State get their first win ever in Missoula. Now this week, they have to go on the road and play in a tough road venue in the conference.

6. Weber State (6)---Last week lost to Montana State at home 13-7, this week at Eastern Washington---As usual, defense is the Wildcats' calling card but the offense needs to score some points. Last week, the Wildcats held the potent Bobcat attack in check most of the game but the offense could not get going. The question this week, what will happen when the Wildcat defense goes up against the Eagles offense.

7. Northern Arizona (8)---Last week beat Southern Utah at home 59-35, this week at Sacramento State---So it seems the Lumberjacks found their offense finally just as the defense is beginning to show signs of cracking. It is one thing to beat up on Southern Utah at home, It is another to try to beat the conference upstart at their place. But a win could happen and that would be nice.

8. Idaho (7)---Last week lost to Eastern Washington 71-21, this week Montana at home---Did the Vandals even show up in Cheney last weekend? They certainly offered very little resistance to the Eagles attack. They head back home this weekend with a game against their old school rivals, in a game that both teams want badly. This has the makings of a great game.

9. Portland State (10)---Last week beat Idaho State at home 31-10, this week bye---Who said the Vikings have no defense? They got the win last week over a rugged Idaho State team and they did it pretty much with defense. If the defense can continue to play that way, the Vikings could turn their season around. It is about time. They get an extra week to prepare for the stretch.

10. Idaho State (9)---Last week lost at Portland State 31-10, this week at Montana State---After a good strong showing at home the week before and getting a win over one of the conference's heavies, the Bengals laid an egg on the road last week. The Bengals have been much better at home that on the road this year. This week, they stay on the road and meet another heavy.

11. Northern Colorado (11)---Last week lost at UC Davis 32-3, this week at Southern Utah---Another week, another loss for the Bears and another learning game for them. The new coaching staff has gone through some intense growing pains this year and this last game was just another example. However, they are set up for a good chance at a win this week, but on the road.

12. Cal Poly (12)---Last week bye, this week UC Davis at home---The Mustangs took the week off and watched from afar the happenings in the conference last week. The also took the chance to regroup and get ready for the role of spoiler. They get their first chance this weekend, bringing in one of the better conference teams from the northern side of the state.

13. Southern Utah (13)---Last week lost at Northern Arizona 59-35, this week Northern Colorado at home---The Thunderbirds last week realized that they most likely cannot outscore people in the conference. Maybe another approach is in the cards. They welcome another team that is near the bottom to their home turf. This may be a good shot for a win and to get things going.

RECAP: 1-2 pulling away, 3-4 keeping up, 5-6 fading a bit, 7-8 trying to stay close, 9-13 off the pace

[SuperHornet]

Seems pretty good. As per usual, I'm having some issues with teams that are contiguous in your list. Generally, everyone is in about the right spot, but there are some pairs I might want to flip. For example, I'm still wanting to give the Manure Pile credit for their scalp, which Sac can't exactly match, though knocking off a #5 squad (even if that exalted placement is considered to be a bit far-fetched in some quarters) IS pretty impressive.

I might also want to question 8-9, but that's just being picky. (Idalol losing by half a hundred, albeit to the #2 team in the country, is worth more than a one-spot drop. PSU won, so I think I'd go 8. PSU, 9. Idalol.

Overall, though, this continues your usual good work, Jal. Thank you for doing this.

[JALMOND]

Seems pretty good. As per usual, I'm having some issues with teams that are contiguous in your list. Generally, everyone is in about the right spot, but there are some pairs I might want to flip. For example, I'm still wanting to give the Manure Pile credit for their scalp, which Sac can't exactly match, though knocking off a #5 squad (even if that exalted placement is considered to be a bit far-fetched in some quarters) IS pretty impressive.

I might also want to question 8-9, but that's just being picky. (Idalol losing by half a hundred, albeit to the #2 team in the country, is worth more than a one-spot drop. PSU won, so I think I'd go 8. PSU, 9. Idalol.

Overall, though, this continues your usual good work, Jal. Thank you for doing this.

Fair enough. Each has their own opinions. Let me see if I can shed some light on why I put them where I did...

1. I think there is no argument putting Sac over Davis. The scalps all happened pretty early and the one with the least impressive scalp is #1 now. Sac just won in probably the most difficult place to win in the conference and also has won in at Idaho State, something Davis couldn't do. I think it is an easy choice putting the Hornets over the Aggies right now.

2. I put Idaho over Portland State due to the Vandals road win in Portland the week before. Pretty easy choice, if you ask me. EWU is destroying almost everything in their path so far. Hard to push the Vandals down far when most of the teams below them would meet a similar fate against the Eagles.

[SuperHornet]

1. Good argument.

2. H2H. That's about as good an argument as there is.

[AZGrizFan]

Griz free fall continues. Beautiful.

[SDHornet]

Well done J. No arguments here. NAU is going to be a tough game, especially if the storm hits during game time.

[kalm]

Seems pretty good. As per usual, I'm having some issues with teams that are contiguous in your list. Generally, everyone is in about the right spot, but there are some pairs I might want to flip. For example, I'm still wanting to give the Manure Pile credit for their scalp, which Sac can't exactly match, though knocking off a #5 squad (even if that exalted placement is considered to be a bit far-fetched in some quarters) IS pretty impressive.

I might also want to question 8-9, but that's just being picky. (Idalol losing by half a hundred, albeit to the #2 team in the country, is worth more than a one-spot drop. PSU won, so I think I'd go 8. PSU, 9. Idalol.

Overall, though, this continues your usual good work, Jal. Thank you for doing this.

Fair enough. Each has their own opinions. Let me see if I can shed some light on why I put them where I did...

1. I think there is no argument putting Sac over Davis. The scalps all happened pretty early and the one with the least impressive scalp is #1 now. Sac just won in probably the most difficult place to win in the conference and also has won in at Idaho State, something Davis couldn't do. I think it is an easy choice putting the Hornets over the Aggies right now.

2. I put Idaho over Portland State due to the Vandals road win in Portland the week before. Pretty easy choice, if you ask me. EWU is destroying almost everything in their path so far. Hard to push the Vandals down far when most of the teams below them would meet a similar fate against the Eagles.

Idaho beat PSU in Moscow by 7 for their only DI win.
Still get the H2H win but man did they come out flat in Cheney.

Watching the Vandals

[uofmman1122]

Fair enough. Each has their own opinions. Let me see if I can shed some light on why I put them where I did...

1. I think there is no argument putting Sac over Davis. The scalps all happened pretty early and the one with the least impressive scalp is #1 now. Sac just won in probably the most difficult place to win in the conference and also has won in at Idaho State, something Davis couldn't do. I think it is an easy choice putting the Hornets over the Aggies right now.

2. I put Idaho over Portland State due to the Vandals road win in Portland the week before. Pretty easy choice, if you ask me. EWU is destroying almost everything in their path so far. Hard to push the Vandals down far when most of the teams below them would meet a similar fate against the Eagles.

Idaho beat PSU in Moscow by 7 for their only DI win.
Still get the H2H win but man did they come out flat in Cheney.

Watching the Vandals

I am confident we'll make them look much better this weekend, don't worry.